


Past

by archchancellor_archived



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Friendship, Post-Hogwarts, The Quidditch Pitch: Leaving Feast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-06
Updated: 2005-10-06
Packaged: 2018-10-26 11:59:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10786335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archchancellor_archived/pseuds/archchancellor_archived
Summary: Cat Vs Dog





	Past

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

Louise sat down on the couch in her living room. She had just put Vincent to bed. She'd had a long day at work. It seemed that all the animals at the wildlife centre had gone down with something. The monkeys were the worst; the visitors that had come to the park kept feeding chocolate to them. There were signs saying that people should not feed the animal but some stupid people went and did it anyway.

Like people care about the poor vet that has to deal with eight screaming monkeys all with the runs, she thought.

Vincent had a good day at school. He had shown her the pictures he drew that day. She was not too sure what they were supposed to be, but that hadn't stopped her from giving him a sweet for his hard work.

~*~

Hermione ran out the door at a flat out pace, Crookshanks wrapped in her arms. She hoped against hope that this Louise was in and that she could help her cat.

~*~

Crookshanks had read about dying. The book had said that just before you die your life flashes before your eyes. 

Oh dear, Crookshanks thought. There is a lot of my life that I do not want to remember…

He was three months old, inside the box in which he was born. His two sisters were next to him. Blaze was asleep. She was called Blaze because her fur was a much darker red than his. Amber was sitting at the entrance to the box, watching the rain come down. Amber’s fur was a lighter shade, and she also had pure green eyes.

"Will mum be back soon?" Amber asked.

"Yes. She is just getting a mouse or two for dinner,." Crookshanks replied. As the oldest (by three minutes) he had the job of looking after his two sisters…

~*~

Louise turned on the television. As always there was nothing worth watching. Even the news was boring. Sometimes she wished that something exciting would happen in her life. 

Hermione reached the door with Ron and the others just behind her. She knocked on the door as hard as she could.

"Louise HELP! Please open the door!"

Louise opened the door to find a brown-haired girl holding a cat. Ron, the man from across the street, was standing behind her, looking pale.

"Louise," Ron said. "Our cat…he ate something and now it’s stuck in his throat; we need your help"

Louise nodded and beckoned them into the house. 

"Put him on the table," she said. "I am going to get my bag."

Opening the downstairs cloakroom, she took out a big black back bag that had all the instruments that she used at work.

"What’s his name?" she asked as she opened his mouth.

"Crookshanks," said Hermione.

"Crookshanks!" Louise shouted, trying to get a response out of the limp cat. She felt along the outside of his throat, feeling for the obtrusion.

"I can feel that something is caught just near his wind pipe," she said to the people standing around her.

"Can you get it out?" Hermione asked, blinking back tears.

"Let's find out."

~*~

Crookshanks floated though his life. He saw all that he had done before. He found it strange to be an outsider to his own life. Cats, unlike most animals (humans included), are the most centred of all beings. That means they always know who they are, where they are going, and how to get here. Crookshanks found it strange to be unsure of all three at the same time; but, like all cats, he did not let that stop him.

Crookshanks remembered his past…

Crookshanks had been with his mistress for sometime now. She was very nice to him. She was a witch, but she did not smell like most witches he had met before--but that was of no matter to him. She was his mistress and that was that.

She had some strange friends. The black-haired one always smelled sad for some reason. He would look happy when others were around but Crookshanks could see right through that. Crookshanks purred for him when he had the chance to cheer him up. Crookshanks had learned long ago that humans liked the sound of a purring cat.

The other friend of his mistress was very strange. For one he had red hair just like his. Crookshanks approved of this; he felt red hair was a sign of something good. The other strange thing was that he had a human pretending to be a rat. Crookshanks found this very strange indeed. Now Crookshanks liked rats; true he liked them as dinner, but he felt that humans should not spend their times being rats. The world was complicated enough as it was.

When Crookshanks found out the red-haired one did not know that the rat was a human, Crookshanks had tried to warn him. But humans being humans, i.e. stupid, he did not understand. Crookshanks found it strange that animals could all talk to each other and understand what was being said, but humans could barely understand themselves.

Crookshanks wondered why he cared about this. So what if some human was trying to hide as a rat? It was none of his business.

But still…

The red-haired boy was close to his mistress so that meant the fake rat would also be close to her. He had to protect her.

~*~

Hermione buried her face in Ron's chest, crying. She'd had Crookshanks for so long that she could not bear the thought of losing him. He was as dear to her as Ron was. She did not know what she would do if he died.

 

"Tongs," Louise said, looking up. "Someone go and get me the tongs out of the kitchen."

"What are they?" asked one of the twins.

"You don’t know what tongs are?" Louise asked.

"Don’t worry about it. I will get them," Hermione said. Only her, Harry, and her parents knew about Muggle things. The twins and Charlie had no idea about Muggle stuff even after she had spent time telling them.

Hermione ran into the kitchen and grabbed the tongs out of a drawer. She went back to Louise and handed them to her.

"I need someone to hold his mouth open," Louise said.

"I’ll do it," Charlie said, stepping forward. He gently opened Crookshanks' mouth.

"Here we go," Louise said.

~*~

Crookshanks was worried. This was not something that happened to a cat much. The fake rat was still here and Crookshanks was going to dislike it more every day; but, everytime he got near it, the redhead stopped him. Crookshanks' actions were starting to upset his mistress and this, in turn, upset him. But he had to get that rat. Or human ...or whatever it was.

Crookshanks walked across the grounds of his mistress' school. He had needed to get out of the castle. The smell of the fake rat was driving him mad. So close…but he could not get him. 

Crookshanks was walking along near the forest when another smell knocked him out of his thoughts. Crookshanks winced. Only one type of thing had that type of smell.

Dog...

"If you are trying to sneak up on me I would advise against it," Crookshanks said to the world at large.

"I did not think you would be able to smell me, cat," came a voice from the darkness.

"A cat’s nose may not be a good as a dog’s nose but cats have better brains to use them." 

"Is that right?"

Crookshanks used his nose to tell where the dog was. The dog was about 10 metres in front of him. He smelled big. He smelled...no, not another one... 

"Step into the light," Crookshanks said.

"Okay, as you wish."

The dog came out of the forest in front of Crookshanks. He was big. About three times the size of Crookshanks. Not that this worried Crookshanks much; he had fought dogs before. They were easy to beat when you knew what to do.

"Why?" Crookshanks asked.

"Why what?"

"Why does a human pretend to be a dog?"

"You can tell?" The dog seemed shocked.

"As I said, cats use their brains as well as their noses."

"And what are you going to do with this information?" the dog asked.

"Whatever I want to," Crookshanks replied.

"And if I decide to stop you. What then?"

"Like you could stop me."

"You should remember that I am a lot bigger than you are," said the dog, towering over Crookshanks.

"I know. It makes it a lot easier for me to rip your testicles off"

The dog backed away and sat down very quickly.

"So what is another fake animal doing here?" Crookshanks asked, swishing his tail in the air.

The dog perked up at hearing this.

"What do you mean by that?" the dog asked carefully.

"You are not the first animal I have met that is something else."

"What sort of animal are you talking about?"

"A rat that smells like a human."

The dog looked straight at Crookshanks. 

"You have seen him? You have seen Wormtail?" he asked.

"Wormtail. Is that his name? Yes I have seen him."

"Is he in the castle now?"

"Yes. I was tying to get him but there are too many people in the way. How do you know him?"

"I knew him from long ago. He betrayed me and my friends. I am here to kill him."

"That’s what I have been trying to do. He is a threat to my mistress. The boy who thinks he owns him is friends with her."

"Do you know a boy with black hair? A scar on his forehead?"

"Yes. He is friends with the redhead and my mistress."

"Oh god. How close are they?"

"The red head and scar boy? Their beds are next to each other."

~*~

Louise removed the tongs from Crookshanks' throat. 

"I can’t get a good grip on the biscuit," she said.

"You have to do something," Hermione cried.

"I will," Louise said. She reached into her bag and brought out a small black leather case. Inside were five very small blades.

"Charlie, hold him still."

Charlie nodded as he exposed the cat’s neck.

"What are you going to do?" Ron asked.

"I am going to do it the hard way," Louise said as she sank the blade in Crookshanks neck. Blood pooling around the body.

~*~

 

"I can help you," Crookshanks said. "I can get you in to the sleeping area."

"How?" said the dog.

"There is a boy that has trouble remembering the passwords to the tower. He was written them all down on paper. If I can get you that paper you can get in and get the rat."

"Good idea. When?"

"I will bring it to you tomorrow night," said Crookshanks. "By the way, what’s your name?"

"My name? My name is Black," said the dog,

"Until tomorrow, Black."

~*~

"Got it!" shouted Louise, holding up the biscuit that had been caught in the cat's throat.

"Thank god. Is he going to be okay?" Hermione asked as she watched Louise sew up Crookshanks' throat. 

"That’s up to him. We will find out when he wakes up."

After Louise had finished tending to Crookshanks, she looked up at the group of people in her house.

"A cup of tea, anyone?"

Louise was working in the kitchen when she saw a very small owl fly over to the cat and hoot at him.

"I know you," she said to the owl.

"That’s Pig," said Ron. "He belongs to me."

"Is that right? I have seen him spending a lot of time with Athena."

"Athena?" Ron asked.

"She is my owl."

"Pig’s girlfriend."

"Ah so that’s it," Louise said to herself as she figured something out.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "Pig has a girlfriend."

"I think he has more than that." Louise said. "Come with me."

Ron and Hermione followed Louise upstairs to a room at the back of the house. It was bare but for a table and perch. On the table was a small nest with a Barn Owl sitting on it.

"Athena," Louise said. 

The Barn Owl looked up. Louise picked her up and beckoned for the other two to look at the nest. Inside were three small, pale blue, eggs.

"I think Pig has some explaining to do."


End file.
